“I’ve had the good fortune of being the Smithers detachment commander for three years. Enjoyed it all; a great place to live and police,” Mitchell said via email. “There is tremendous support for the RCMP from all elected officials within the detachment area (Town of Smithers, Village of Telkwa, Witset, Fort Babine, Bulkley-Nechako Regional District), and also from citizens in general.”

Mitchell has been the acting DANCO since March in addition to his job as Smithers RCMP Detachment Commander, but will now step into the DANCO role full-time.

Smithers Sgt. Darren Durnin will become the acting detachment commander while RCMP reviews candidates for the position.

“Knowing that I have [Mitchell] here in the background and my own personal experience in policing, I feel confident that I’ll be able to fulfill the position well,” Durnin said.